Two years after their meet-cute in a Brooklyn post office, 18-year-old ex-boyfriends Arthur Seuss and Ben Alejo reunite in the achingly romantic sequel to What If It’s Us.
"The last time I watched Arthur walk away was two summers ago. I'm reliving that deep uncertainty in my chest all over again," aspiring writer Ben muses when Arthur returns to New York City as an intern for a queer off-Broadway play. Both teens have new love interests, but separately experience glimmers of hopeful uncertainty for a potential relationship "do-over." Arthur admits, "Maybe it's just one of those ex-boyfriend things, but [Ben's] face makes me forget what year it is." Ben and Arthur's sincere introspections, dramatic interludes and sometimes painful self-discoveries are told in alternating points of view and buoyed by interactions with Ben's brash yet steadfastly loyal best friend, Dylan. Ben cursorily examines his race and ethnicity, mostly in relation to Arthur (who's white) and his current love interest, Mario Colón. Ben recalls a conversation with Arthur about being white-passing and Puerto Rican, "something I never had to educate Mario on since he's in the same boat."
Here's to Us transitions seamlessly from its predecessor yet stands strongly on its own. Powerhouse young adult fiction duo Becky Albertalli (Kate in Waiting) and Adam Silvera (They Both Die at the End) craft a rich narrative with strong character arcs that dovetail in an anticipatory conclusion. The two authors answer the question, "What would happen if we got back together?" beautifully in this funny and sweet contemporary YA novel. --Kieran Slattery, freelance reviewer, teacher, co-creator of Gender Inclusive Classrooms